Read in September 2024
September was the month for the Autumn equinox in the Magical Readathon. In previous years, the fall semester took place in August, but due to circumstances it was moved forward a month. Although I didn’t post anything about it here, I still participated and with success!
In September I read a total of 11 books, good for 3571 pages. The average September book comes to 321 pages/book.
In terms of ratings, it was a somewhat fluctuating month, with some great books, quite a few nice books and also some ok books. This brings the average book of the month to 3.3 stars.
September was a very varied month in terms of the target audience. I read 3 middlegrade books, 3 Young Adult books and 5 adult books.
I also varied in reading format, with 1 e-book, 4 audiobooks and 6 physically owned books.
For the genres I switched between 4 genres, namely sci-fi (1), romance (2), horror (4) and fantasy (4).
For the language I stuck with English again and I didn’t read a single book in Dutch.
Below is the list of the books I read in September and my rating in stars.
Click on the link to jump to the blurb and my review! As always, be aware that both blurb and review may contain spoilers, especially if it concerns sequels in a series! Sometimes I will also hide spoilers behind a fold-out text!
- Abercrombie, Joe – The Great Change (and other Lies) (First Law World #11) ★★★
- Rubinkowski, Jessica – The Bright & the Pale (The Bright & the Pale Duology #1) ★★
- Schwab, Victoria – City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1) 🎧 ★★★★
- Bannen, Megan – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy #1) ★★★
- Weir, Andy – Artemis ★★★
- Saint, Jennifer – Elektra ★★★★
- Schwab, Victoria – Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake #2) 🎧 ★★★★
- Schwab, Victoria – Bridge of Souls (Cassidy Blake #3) 🎧 ★★★
- Sutherland, Krystal – House of Hollow ★★★★
- Bannen, Megan – The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy #2) ★★★
- Noni, Lynette – The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) 🎧 ★★★
Abercrombie, Joe – The Great Change (and other Lies) (First Law World #11) ★★★
Genre: Fantasy (grimdark)
We follow the thread from the cotton-fields of Gurkhul to the heights of Aduan society, we follow a stone from the rivers of Kadir to the crown of the Union, we follow the iron from the prison-mines of Angland to a knife in the back of the old regime. And we follow the slow gestation of the Great Change itself, a revolution which will turn the whole world upside down…
I read this short story collection solely to be able to say I read all installments in the First Law World.
Written in Abercrombie’s signature style, they’re not bad reads, but don’t really add value to the main stories.
Rubinkowski, Jessica – The Bright & the Pale (The Bright & the Pale Duology #1) ★★
Genre: YA Fantasy
That is, until he is brutally murdered.
A year later, she discovers Alik is alive and being held against his will. To buy his freedom, she must lead a group of cutthroats and thieves on a perilous expedition to the very mountain that claimed her family. Only something sinister slumbers in the heart of Knnot.
And it has waited years for release.
My oldest unread Fairyloot book at the time, received in April 2021. I selected it to read for the “Night sky on cover” prompt in the magical readathon.
This turned out to be a very basic, traditional YA fantasy adventure, with predictable twist after predictable twist and a very entitled, angry, rash, main character. Glad I can tick it off my list, but I have no interest in reading the sequel.
🎧 Schwab, Victoria – City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1) ★★★★
Genre: Horror (middlegrade)
So things are already pretty strange. But they’re about to get much stranger…
This middle grade book by V.E. Schwab has been featuring on my October TBRs for a couple of years now, but I never got around to it until now. For the magical readathon, I needed a book with a bat on the cover and this was the only book on my shelves that fit the bill. When I saw the audiobook on Storytel, I decided to go that route and combine listening with some cozy crafting.
I ended up listening to this in one sitting.
A really fun, slightly creepy story that is clearly meant for a younger audience, but still showcases Schwab’s distinctive voice. The story is well constructed and the characters feel real and lively (even though some of them are no longer alive).
Reading this gave me a really nostalgic feeling, both for Edinburgh and for the feelings favourite childhood books can evoke (the many Harry Potter references probably contributed to this).
Looking forward to continuing Cassidy and Jacob’s story!
Bannen, Megan – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy #1) ★★★
Genre: Romance (fantasy)
Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.
After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?
Reread because I felt like reading something I was already familiar with and I was planning on reading the next book in this series.
I ended up enjoying this more upon reread than I did originally, mainly because I already knew what was up with the world and did not have to go through the different stages of confusion.
Cute, interesting and cozy.
Weir, Andy – Artemis ★★★
Genre: Sci-Fi
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.
Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
Despite it often being called Andy Weir’s weakest book, I had a lot of fun reading Artemis.
Very reminiscent to The Martian, but then with a female protagonist. Not a typical female voice, but nothing I found too jarring or unbelievable. She sounded a lot like Mark Watney in my opinion, a personality people seem to love in male characters, but dislike in female. Take from that what you want.
Saint, Jennifer – Elektra ★★★★
Genre: Fantasy (mythology)
Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon – her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost.
Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.
Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?
Elektra was my 5-star prediction for the Magical Readathon, yet it didn’t quite reach that mark.
Although Elektra is highlighted in the title, the novel weaves together the lives of three women—Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra—during the same tragic era.
Clytemnestra’s perspective was the most compelling for me; the raw, visceral quality of her grief and rage moved me to tears. Cassandra’s viewpoint, on the other hand, was essential for fleshing out the story. Her descent from desperation to madness was heart-wrenching, making her pain feel palpable.
Only Elektra herself failed to resonate, stirring in me more frustration than empathy. Perhaps this was intentional, but her portrayal felt too one-dimensional and unconvincing, leaving her character flat. Given that Elektra is central to the narrative’s climax, this weakened the story’s overall impact.
Still, Elektra is a well-written and evocative retelling, and I’d recommend it to mythology lovers seeking fresh perspectives on these iconic tales.
🎧 Schwab, Victoria – Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake #2) ★★★★
Genre: Horror (middlegrade)
She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs.
When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter — and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger.
And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever.
After listening to book 1 earlier this month and finding it a fantastic companion while crocheting or knitting, I couldn’t wait too long to continue on.
Again a really fun, creepy read. A little less recognizable, since despite having been to Paris a couple of time, I never visited the catacombs and don’t have the same feelings towards this city as I do to Edinburgh. But I found the ghost story in this one a lot more enticing and macabre.
The characters continue to be compelling and I’m genuinely invested in how this will conclude!
🎧 Schwab, Victoria – Bridge of Souls (Cassidy Blake #3) ★★★
Genre: Horror (middlegrade)
Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents’ TV show.
But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colourful, grisly local legends. And the city’s biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.
Cass takes on her most dangerous challenge yet…
Unfortunately, this finale was a bit of a letdown for me.
On the surface, this story followed the same formula as the previous two, but with a much higher stakes for both Cassady and Jacob.
The setting of New Orleans was delicious, but felt more cartoonish than real to me, having never been there.
Overall, I had just expected more of the conclusion of the story and the backgrounds of the characters, but I guess I forgot along the way that this was a middle grade and therefore wouldn’t be too complex.
It was still a great, quick and easy listen while crafting, though.
Sutherland, Krystal – House of Hollow ★★★★
Genre: Horror (YA)
Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.
As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.
The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.
House of Hollow was an unexpectedly delicious dive into the morbid and mysterious—dark, lush, and absolutely engrossing. This turned out to be my favorite read of the month!
I approached it with low expectations. While the cover and premise were captivating, I’ve often been let down by similar books, so I tempered my hopes. I needn’t have worried—this story pulled me in from the very first page and kept me spellbound until the end.
It’s a deliciously eerie tale, brimming with exactly the kind of strangeness I love. The atmosphere is immaculate, drenched in gorgeous, gothic imagery: overgrown places, the scent of decay, and unsettling glimpses of creepy crawlies emerging from the most unexpected places. It’s a twisted, dark fairy tale in every sense, blending folklore and decaying nature with flashes of modern glamour and fame. I absolutely adored it!
My only wish was that it hadn’t ended so soon. Even after the full mystery was revealed in all its grotesque glory, I found myself craving more. Though the ending was satisfying, it left me hoping for just a bit more.
This is a perfect gothic read for spooky season—or any time of year, really, whenever you’re craving a taste of something haunting and hauntingly beautiful.
Bannen, Megan – The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy #2) ★★★
Genre: Romance (fantasy)
Twyla might look like a small town mom who brings cheesy potatoes to funerals and whips up a batch of cookies for the school bake sale, but her rewarding career in law enforcement has been a welcome change from the domestic grind of mom life, despite the misgivings of her grown children.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) a recent decrease in on-the-job peril has made Twyla and Frank’s job a lot safer … and a lot less exciting. So when they discover the body of one of their fellow marshals covered in liquid glitter–and Frank finds himself the inadvertent foster dad to a baby dragon–they are more than happy to be back on the beat.
Soon, the friends wind up ensnared in a nefarious plot that goes far deeper than any lucrative Tanrian mineshaft. But as the danger closes in and Twyla and Frank’s investigation becomes more complicated, so does their easy friendship. And Twyla starts to realize that her true soul mate might just be the person who has lived next door all along…
I was initially excited to dive into this story, which promised a delightful mix of whimsical fantasy and a friends-to-lovers romance featuring an older couple. And it did start off that way – engaging, fun and urging me to keep read. But unfortunately, it quickly lost steam, ending as a rather tedious and disappointing experience.
Twyla, our main character and only point of view, felt like a letdown. I was eager to read about a complex, fifty-something woman, and while Twyla showed promise at first, her character often slipped into self-mockery and teenage-like whining that detracted from her appeal.
The romance was equally underwhelming. I wanted to be moved by Twyla’s eventual realization of her feelings for her best friend, Frank, but the connection fell flat. Without Frank’s perspective, the romance lacked depth and chemistry. We’re supposed to infer that Frank has been harboring feelings for Twyla, yet it never fully resonates. Twyla’s fierce denial and a sudden relationship with someone else only soured the romance further. Their dynamic shifts abruptly from nothing to everything, undermining what could have been a tender, layered love story. In that sense, the book’s title, The Undermining of Twyla and Frank, truly delivers.
The fantasy elements, initially charming and quirky, soon became overly silly and contrived. The originality is commendable, but the whimsy felt increasingly over-the-top, culminating in a villain and motives more suited to a children’s cartoon than an adult fantasy novel.
Ultimately, while The Undermining of Twyla and Frank offers an original setup, it turns out to be merely dress-up for a lackluster romance. I finished the book feeling disappointed, longing for the emotional depth and connection that remained out of reach.
🎧 Noni, Lynette – The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) ★★★
Genre: YA Fantasy
When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.
Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.
But no one has ever survived.
With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.
Despite this being a YA-novel, I had high hopes for The Prison Healer, due to the high praise for its thrilling plot twists and its enduring popularity. Initially, I was drawn in by the intriguing setup and immersive world, but as the story unfolded, I found myself predicting each twist—an element often touted as its main appeal. This predictability turned the reading experience repetitive and drawn out, as the plot seemed to stall without substantial progression.
The ending, which was the one twist I didn’t see coming, ultimately felt forced and out of sync with the story and established character work, dampening the impact of the narrative and making the journey feel less satisfying overall.
For me, this was an average read that could have been more effective with a tighter plot and a more convincing conclusion. I don’t see myself continuing with the series.
